Asteron Life Income Protection - A review

Asteron Life - a brief company overview

“We’re in this for life.”

Asteron Life is proud to offer a range of insurance products designed to manage just about any hurdle life throws you. As winners of the 2021 and 2023 ANZIIF Life Insurance Company of the Year awards, it’s clear Asteron Life understands exactly what it takes to support their many members through thick and thin; in fact, they’ve been doing so since 1878 – that’s over 143 years of keeping New Zealanders at the heart of their business.

From July 2022 to June 2023, Asteron Life accepted 94% of claims and paid $121 million to their valued customers.

Previously known as Royal and Sun Alliance, Asteron has evolved to become part of Suncorp New Zealand – a subsidiary of the Australian Suncorp family of general and life insurance. This relationship with “over-the-ditch” Australian Suncorp has culminated in a solid, multi-faceted suite of Asteron Life insurance products you can rely on when the going gets tough.

Recently, Suncorp Group and Resolution Life Australasia entered into an agreement for the purchase of Asteron Life. Resolution Life Australasia, a part of the global life insurance company Resolution Life, currently serves about 1.1 million customers in Australia and New Zealand. The company has around NZ$1.7 billion in-force premiums and NZ$30.4 billion in assets under management. The sale is currently undergoing regulatory approval.

Policywise works with the full suite of Asteron Life products, including life, trauma, total and permanent disablement, and business cover. In this review, we’ll look at their income protection plans in detail.

What is income protection insurance?

Income protection insurance provides financial support if you suffer a policy-defined illness or injury and cannot work. It offers regular payments - often released monthly - that replace a portion of your lost income, allowing you to:

• maintain your financial commitments, such as bills, mortgages, rents, and living expenses.
• pay for unexpected costs, such as medical bills, home care, and rehabilitation.
• ensure your family’s financial needs will continue to be met while you can’t work.

Asteron Life’s income protection plans can cover you for a few years or until your retirement (age 65 or 70). You can choose your waiting period before receiving a benefit, ranging from several weeks to a few years. Selecting a longer waiting period will lower your premium.

Additionally, income protection premiums may be tax deductible, and the benefit payments you receive may be taxable.

For help in determining the best way forward for you and your family, contact an insurance adviser - such as Policywise; it’s fast and it’s free.

Asteron Life Income Protection Insurance: Types, features and benefits

1. Asteron Life Income Protection

This product provides a payment if you're still unable to work after your waiting period ends. You decide how long this period lasts - from 2 weeks to 1-2 years  - with longer periods leading to lower premiums.

Asteron Life offers two types of income protection cover:

• Loss of Earnings: Asteron Life will compensate you for 75% of your actual income loss. It's favoured by individuals with steady incomes, like salaried employees.
• Loss of Earnings Plus: Asteron pays you either the agreed maximum amount minus any other income or 75% of your income loss, whichever is greater. This is beneficial for those with varying incomes, such as small business owners or contractors.

Here’s an overview of what’s covered:

• Benefit Payment Period Options: You can choose how long to receive monthly payments while unable to work: 2 years, 5 years, or to age 65 or age 70.
• Rehabilitation and Retraining Support: Provides various forms of assistance to help you return to work, such as support for occupational therapy and rehabilitation.
• Recurrent Disability Benefit: If you suffer the same disability within a year of being back at work, the waiting period will be waived, so you’ll receive monthly payments immediately.
• Return-to-Work Benefit: Provides bonuses if you can resume full-time work.
• Family Assist: Pays a nurse or family member to care for you at home for up to six months.
• Accommodation Support: Covers your family's expenses to be with you if they live more than 100km away.
• Disability Reset: Allows you to claim again for a new or related sickness or injury.
• Elective Surgery Benefit: Offers a monthly payment if you are disabled due to elective surgery.
• Overseas Assist: Reimburses $10,000 of your travel costs back to New Zealand if you need to make an income protection claim while overseas.
• Financial Assistance: Reimburses funeral costs if you pass away.
• Parental Leave Benefit: Pays your premiums for six months while you're on extended parental leave.
• Dependent Relative: Pays you a monthly benefit for up to six months if you can’t work due to a full-time family caregiving responsibility.
• Income Update: Free cover increase of up to 10% per year without a need for medical underwriting. This is particularly important if your income significantly increases.

2. Asteron Life Mortgage and Living Insurance

You’ll receive regular payments to help cover your mortgage or rent plus other expenses if you suffer a policy-defined illness or injury that prevents you from working. The value of this payment will be based either on your income or on your residential mortgage repayments.

Here’s an overview of what’s covered:

• Income Support: You can choose to receive your claim payments monthly, fortnightly, or weekly.
• Benefit Payment Period Options: You can choose how long to receive payments while unable to work: 2 years, 5 years, or to age 65 or age 70.
• Rehabilitation and Retraining Support: Helps with your rehabilitation and retraining expenses.
• Recurrent Disability Benefit: Waives the waiting period if you suffer from the same sickness or disability within a year of resuming work.
• Family Assist Benefit: Pays a nurse or family member to care for you at home for up to six months.
• Elective Surgery Benefit: Offers a monthly payment if you are disabled due to elective surgery.
• Return to Work Benefit: Provides bonus benefits if you return to full-time work.
• Dependent Relative Benefit: Provides a monthly benefit (up to six months) if you stop working to be a family member’s full-time carer.
• New Parent Premium Waiver: Waives your premium for six months while you’re on parental leave.
• Mortgage and Income Update: Lets you increase your monthly benefit up to 10% each year without further underwriting.
• Transition to Level Premiums: Provides a transition from stepped to level premiums, allowing you to adjust your premiums to fit your changing needs.

3. Asteron Life Workability Insurance

Asteron Life’s Workability Cover provides monthly payments of up to 75% of your pre-disability income plus rehabilitation support if you’re not eligible for ACC payments.

You can claim support in two ways: short-term, where you receive a monthly benefit for up to 12 months if you're unable to work at least 75% of your usual hours due to illness or injury, and long-term, where you receive a monthly benefit if, because of a disability, you can't earn at least 75% of your usual income in any job you're trained for.

Here’s an overview of what’s covered:

• ACC Continuation: Assists if ACC declines your claim or stops paying your weekly compensation.
• Rehabilitation Assistance: Reimburses the cost of your rehabilitation, retraining, and similar types of support so you can return to work.
• Transition Support: Covers costs up to $2,000 associated with securing a new job due to your disability.
• Premium Waiver: Applicable if you're disabled and receiving short-term or long-term support.
• Inflation Adjustment: Increases your sum insured each year by the rate of inflation with no further underwriting.
• Income Update: Allows you to increase your cover by 10% each year with no need for medical underwriting if you’re below 55 years old. This is especially important if you’re seeing significant increases in your income.
• Premium and Cover Suspension for 3-12 months.
  

Optional Benefits to Further Protect Your Income

Aside from the built-in benefits above, Asteron Life offers optional benefits to enhance your cover. Depending on the type of income cover you choose, these add-ons can include:

• Free Kids Cover: Provides an additional $50,000 trauma cover for your children or grandchildren. You can increase this amount for an extra fee.
• Immediate Assist: Offers financial support if you’re confined to bed or diagnosed with a specified condition (including cancer) while you’re waiting for your claim payments to start.
• Specific Injury Support Benefit: Provides financial support if you suffer from one of 29 specified injuries, even if you can still work.
• Income Top-up: Increases your monthly benefit during the initial phase of your claim.
• Mental Health Discount: Offers a discount if you limit your payment period to two years for mental health-related claims.
• Needlestick: Provides medical workers with additional protection if they contract HIV or Hepatitis B or C at work.

Schedule a callback with a Policywise adviser to learn more about these and other optional benefits that can boost your income protection cover.

Please note: Terms and conditions, as well as exclusions, apply to all Asteron Life products. It's important to review your policy carefully to understand the specific terms of cover, benefits, and any limitations. This ensures that you have a clear understanding of the protection provided by each product. If you have any questions or would like some help finding the right policy, book a callback with a Policywise adviser; it's fast and free.

Asteron Life offers more ways to strengthen your cover

• Asteron Life Life Cover: Offers financial protection to beneficiaries in case of your unexpected passing. It provides a lump sum payment, supporting your family, settling debts, and covering living expenses.
• Asteron Life Trauma Cover: Provides a lump sum payment upon diagnosis of covered conditions, assisting with medical expenses, debts, or necessary lifestyle adjustments.
• Total and Permanent Disablement Cover: Secures ongoing expenses, rehabilitation, and lifestyle changes with a lump sum payment. This cover offers financial security in case of complete and permanent disability.
• Group/Employee Insurance: Allows business owners to provide their employees with life, trauma, disability, and income protection benefits.
• Business Cover: Safeguards businesses when key personnel face incapacity due to a policy-defined illness or injury, supporting ongoing expenses and temporary staffing needs.

Do you need Asteron Life Income Protection Insurance in New Zealand?

Income protection insurance in New Zealand is a crucial safety net, especially if your income supports your livelihood and that of your dependants and employees.

Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

1. Financial security: Of 2.8 million employed Kiwis in the March 2022 quarter, 44,200 were away from work for a full week because of sickness, illness, or injury. Asteron Life’s Income Protection, Trauma, and Total and Permanent Disablement Insurance provide a strong financial backup for your family if you need to stop working temporarily or permanently.
2. Debt protection: Home loan rates have been volatile since Covid-19 struck New Zealand in 2020, rising from lows near 2% to more than 7%. Asteron Life’s Trauma, Life, and Mortgage and Living Insurance can help pay debts, rents, mortgages, and loans, relieving your loved ones from the burden.
3. Income replacement: The cost of living in New Zealand rose by 7.0% in the 12 months to the December 2023 quarter. Asteron Life’s Trauma Cover can help your family pay for health expenses on top of regular bills, while Asteron’s Income Protection Cover can help replace your financial input as an income earner.
4. Peace of mind: From June 2022 to May 2023, Kiwis sustained approximately 35,805 injuries that resulted in more than a week away from work. Asteron Life’s Income Protection, Trauma Cover, or Total and Permanent Disablement Insurance ensures your loved ones are financially secure while you are off work. 
5. Reliable cover: While ACC offers some financial relief for accident recovery, it does not cover serious illnesses, like cancer or sudden events, like a heart attack. Asteron Life’s Income Protection Insurance secures your family’s financial wellbeing if you need to stop working due to a condition not covered by ACC.

Policywise: Your trusted insurance adviser

Policywise is a 100% free service which tells you which health, life, and disability insurance provider best fits your needs. We offer fast, comprehensive, and easy-to-understand comparisons of all leading providers, and a simple summary clearly recommending which insurer is best for your situation.

Not all insurance policies are the same. Policywise can help you sort out the duds, avoid the lemons, understand the fine print and exclusions, and get the right insurance for you and your family.

We make the important decision of where to buy your insurance super easy. We’ll answer your questions, provide experienced advice, quotes, and comparisons, and manage all the back and forth throughout the application process. Taking out your cover through us means you'll have our lifetime support and claims advocacy, and we'll help you negotiate a positive outcome at claim time. We can also take care of lodging any claims on your behalf and back you up if the going gets tough.

Check out the reviews on our homepage for how other New Zealanders have found our service, because now is the time to get your income protection insurance sorted. Give your family or someone you love the most outstanding financial support possible. Book a 5-minute callback with Policywise today; our service is fast and free.